Dive Brief:
- AES Energy Storage Solutions deployed its first Advancion 4, the newest iteration of its battery storage system, at Maryland's Warrior Run facility. AES touts the 10 MW facility as the largest grid-scale battery in the state.
- The new system comes with upgraded controls software, a modular design, and improved battery architecture that are expected to improve reliability while cutting costs, the company said in a release. The battery will provide frequency regulation services to the PJM markets.
- The new modular design allows for configurations from 100 kW to over 1,000 kW, and output durations ranging from 15 minutes to over four hours.
Dive Insight:
AES Energy Storage Solutions, a division of the AES Corp., introduced grid-scale battery energy storage for commercial power markets in 2008 and is considered a pioneer in that field. The company operates 384 MW of battery energy storage in six countries, the largest battery storage fleet in the world.
Among the benefits AES touts, the modular, scalable battery architecture can incorporate components from other pre-certified suppliers who build to meet the new product’s specifications. A measure of the AES reach is that these pre-certified suppliers represent over half of the world’s advanced battery manufacturing.
The Advancion 4 control system at the Warrior Run installation measures and records nearly 80,000 separate data points. That degree of granular operation allows for stacking services, including regulation, reserves, renewable ramping, energy delivery, and voltage control to increase the battery system’s economic viability.
The AES Corp., which had $17 billion in revenues for 2014, owns or manages $39 billion in total assets. AES owns several power plants in states from Maryland to Hawaii, as well as two regulated utilities in Indiana — Indianapolis Power and Light (IPL) and Dayton Power and Light (DPL).
